The Irish Refugee Council and the National Union of Journalists have condemned as potential censorship a new law which requires the media to get written permission from the Minister for Justice before identifying asylum-seekers.
The measure, part of the Refugee Act, 1996, now being implemented, also requires that asylum-seekers agree to be identified.
Even where they do, however, the Minister can still withhold permission, and in such cases publications identifying the asylum applicant face fines of up to £1,500 or 12 months' imprisonment, or both.
The Department of Justice said the law was designed to protect the rights of asylum applicants and was in keeping with the policies of the United Nations Human Rights Commission.
But a UNHCR spokesman said it had made no comment on the relevant section of the legislation, and added: "Our concern is that information on an individual's case is not divulged without the person's consent and without a proper understanding of the implications of reporting it."
The law, given effect from last Monday, provides that "no matter likely to lead members of the public to identify a person as an applicant under this Act shall be published in a written publication available to the public or broadcast without the consent of that person and the consent of the Minister for Justice.
A Department spokesman said that, even where permission was refused by the Minister, the law would not prevent reports of the general circumstances of an individual's case. But he admitted it would be extremely difficult for daily newspapers to secure permission within narrow deadlines.
The Refugee Council said it was very concerned that the Minister appeared to have power to decide which asylum applicants could tell their stories. It also expressed doubt about the Department's ability to deal quickly with media requests "given the speed with which it has dealt with asylum applications".
The NUJ said that many asylum-seekers, some of them journalists, had fled repression in their countries of origin, and were now facing curbs on freedom of expression here.
The NUJ's national organiser for Ireland, Mr Seamus Dooley, said the NUJ appreciated that there might be cases in which revealing the identity of applicants could put their lives at risk should they return to their countries. "But asylum-seekers should have the right to decide whether or not they wish to make public statements, to take part in organisations or to give interviews to the media," Mr Dooley said.
The union called on the Minister "to make it clear that organisations representing asylum-seekers will be free to continue in operation and will be free to make public statements without the risk of facing financial penalties or imprisonment".
The law has been highlighted by the case of a Nigerian asylum-seeker in Tramore, who has attracted local support for her campaign against deportation but can no longer be identified in the media without the permission of the Minister for Justice.
The woman, a teacher, says she is a member of the Ijaw tribe which is being oppressed by other tribes. She told a meeting last week that two of her brothers had been killed and she decided to leave after her husband and older son were taken from her home.
Ms Aine Ni Chonaill of the Immigration Control Platform said the case was a test of the Government's determination to deport failed asylum-seekers. If it did not do so, it could not continue with an asylum system at all, she claimed.